"I watch it so I can start conversations"

I was watching The Book of Eli, an apocalyptic movie that just hit my Netflix new release list. It was hard to watch, and in fact I only made it past the first few scenes. After the first woman was raped, I couldn't imagine watching two full hours of similar occurrences. I started asking, "What was the purpose of this movie again?" If I was placed in the time of Judges, I'm sure reality would have been similar to this movie, and I bet critics will try to align The Book of Eli with the same purpose of the Old Testament. However, I think you would have to be very creative to convince me they were parallel. The Old Testament is a collection of many accounts of man's journey through disobedience, judgment, and redemption. Does the Book Of Eli have that same purpose? I think it would be a stretch, because The Book Of Eli only cycles through man's disobedience, one painful scene after the other. I'm guessing this film on it's own could not support a redemptive conclusion.

When you watch a film that's purpose is to show you reality with no limits (by "no limits" I mean uncensored language, scenes, content) - like The Book Of Eli, Crash, or Requiem for a Dream, we continue watching because we're astonished that the people can act so cruelly or fall so hard. We're so shocked that there is some reality to it. We just can't believe someone would make a movie about this! So we keep watching. These movies make our stomachs knot, our hearts ache, and sometimes we're caught thinking like the criminals. And I think we sometimes explain to ourselves - well if I watch these actors having sex, killing people, snorting drugs, hitting their kids, then I can appreciate how much better my situation is - or it will make me never try those sins -or I can reach people with this good conversation starter - or it will help me understand the struggles of this generation. Well, I would beg to say the the gravity of entertaining our minds with these kind of scenes is much more destructive than your conversations afterward will be redemptive. You don't have to sink yourself deeper in the mud to appreciate God's cleansing. I think we too often justify our harsh words, our filthy movies, and are dirty music with the claim of it being "honest." We proudly defend this entertainment claiming it's true to reality - and that anyone willing to admit that reality sucks has guts. But I think we tend to dwell on the wrong reality. There is a reality that says our world is fallen and imperfect, but we are called to live in the reality to come, God's reality.

Here is a sampling of my most recent photos from my photo blog. I share the blog with my best friend and artist, Haley Manning. Check it out sometime!


Ducks
By Robin Holtom



Baby Ducks
By Robin Holtom




Perched
By Robin Holtom


Turtles Attacking Tortillas
By Robin Holtom